Many students find that math is the hardest subject in school probably because you learn a lot of things in a small amount of time, and because numbers are "another language" and your horizons on this language are constantly expanding.

Some simple steps for improving your grade in Math are written below, so read on!

Ad

Steps

1

Go to class. While you can get away with skipping class in some subjects, math is like a ladder. If a rung is missing, or if you don't get a good grip on it, you'll struggle to reach the next rung. If enough rungs are missing, it will be impossible to climb higher. In addition, teachers often emphasize the most important topics in class, so come test time you'll know exactly what to study.

Ad

2

Sit in the front row and participate in class. By sitting in the front row, distractions are minimized and performance heightened. Asking questions or providing answers helps the student to stay engaged in the learning process, this improving attentiveness and retention of materials learned.

3

Do your homework. Homework may seem like torture, but it's really designed to help you learn. The key to learning math is repetition: do enough problems with the quadratic formula, and you'll eventually be able to recite it in your sleep. Plus, as you do your homework, you'll be able to identify concepts you don't understand. It also doesn't hurt that test questions are often based on the homework assignments.

4

Ask questions. OK, so you did your homework, but you still don't understand how to factor a polynomial. Go ahead and ask your teacher, TA, professor--even other students may be able to help. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and if you think it's embarrassing to ask a question imagine how you'll feel when you get a big red "F" on the exam. Everybody has questions about math; successful students ask theirs.

5

Review before the test. Good job! You went to class, did your homework, and got your questions answered. Now, the test is tomorrow. Do you a) breathe a sigh of relief and go to bed; b) turn on the TV and watch The Simpsons; or c) review what you've learned? That's right, it's time to review. This is not the time for cramming, however; you're better prepared than that anyway. Go over your notes, take practice tests, and make sure you have important formulas memorized. Of course, you could just watch The Simpsons, but don't be surprised if your grades turn out more like Bart's than like Lisa's!

6

Relax. Make sure you get a good night's sleep the night before the test. You'll feel better and think more clearly if you're well rested. Right before taking your test, look over the important formulas one last time, but other than that, you're done preparing. Remember, you're ready for this, and no matter what happens it's not the end of the world. I find chewing gum helps - if your school allows it, of course.

7

Pace yourself. Once you have your exam in front of you, look it over to see how many questions there are and what kind of questions are included. This will give you an idea of how much time you can spend on each problem. If you get stuck on a question, move on to the next one and come back later. Sometimes a later question will even jog your memory so that you can answer the one you skipped. Most importantly, don't rush yourself.

8

Pay attention to neatness. Any math teacher will tell you that sloppy work is the test-taker's worst enemy. Even if you know the material cold, a smudged digit here or a forgotten negative sign there can ruin an entire problem. If you make a mistake, use your eraser--that's what it's there for.

9

Check your work. Great, you finished the test with plenty of time. Don't turn it in yet, though! Good test-takers make mistakes all the time, but they find them and fix them before they hand in their exams. I can't stress this enough - you will always find a mistake somewhere. Anyways, depending on what kind of problems you're doing, your teacher will probably give you some hints on how to check your work. In general, though, carefully reread each question and ask yourself if your answers make sense. You still may not get every problem right, but you'll increase your chances of success exponentially.
Always verify your answers one or two times after writing exam.Read the question two/three times before writing the exam.Do not make tensions in your mind while writing an exam.This will lead to you forgetting your answers

Ad

We could really use your help!

Can you tell us aboutMRI machines?

Yes

No

MRI machines

how to interpret an MRI

Can you tell us aboutestate planning?

Yes

No

estate planning

how to set up an estate

Can you tell us aboutHarvard Business School?

Yes

No

Harvard Business School

how to get into Harvard Business School

Can you tell us aboutdentistry?

Yes

No

dentistry

how to become a dental assistant

Thanks for helping! Please tell us everything you know about

...

Tell us everything you know here. Remember, more detail is better.

Tips

Provide Details.

Please be as detailed as possible in your explanation. Don't worry about formatting! We'll take care of it.
For example:Don't say: Eat more fats.Do say: Add fats with some nutritional value to the foods you already eat. Try olive oil, butter, avocado, and mayonnaise.

Share

Featured Articles

Meet a Community Member

Meet Maluniu, a wikiHowian who has been active on the site for over 8 years. In that time, she has started over 2,100 articles (many of which have been featured) and has been immeasurably helpful around the site, constantly performing “behind-the-scenes” tasks to keep the advice here accurate and organized, as well as helping out on various international wikiHows. As an Admin and New Article Booster, Maluniu helps other community members every day, and she says her proudest accomplishment is knowing that she’s helped someone in the world to do at least one thing they haven’t tried before. Her favorite article on wikiHow is How to Practice Random Acts of Kindness, which is mirrored in how she interacts in the community here. She loves learning from others and giving back knowledge in return, and says she has a “second family” bond with her fellow editors. She has involved her real family in wikiHow, too, recruiting her daughter to help her make many projects so that she could write articles on them!